Afif, Al Dawsari and Arif eye AFC Player of the Year breakthrough

Riyadh: History lies in wait for the latest recipient of the AFC Player of the Year trophy, when the winner is unveiled at the AFC Awards Riyadh 2025...

Riyadh: History lies in wait for the latest recipient of the AFC Player of the Year trophy, when the winner is unveiled at the AFC Awards Riyadh 2025 on Thursday evening at the King Fahad Cultural Center.

Qatari superstar Akram Afif could become the first player to clinch the accolade thrice, while Salem Al Dawsari is in the running to be the first Saudi Arabian to win it twice and Arif Aiman Hanapi is already the first-ever Malaysian nominee.

The trio, whose nominations were announced last month, enjoyed stellar 2024/25 campaigns for both club and country, and are in contention to clinch the prestigious prize at the 29th edition of the AFC Awards.

Afif, who is the sixth player to be nominated thrice since the award was first given out in 1994 (after Ali Daei, Ali Karimi, Hidetoshi Nakata, Omar Abdulrahman and Zheng Zhi), told the-AFC.com: “It’s a great honour…to be among the very few players who achieved this means a lot to me. I always try to represent Qatar and my club in the best way possible, so being recognised again is truly special.